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Page 153

Section 13—

Making a Demo Recording

ABBREVIATIONSRoman numerals I VII

indicate chordrelationships within a key.

m maj minormajor

Song sectionsbr bridge :

c ch codachorus

hk i introhook

pch v versepre-chorus

Most of the chord-sequence examplesare standardized for comparison

intoFamous songs referred to in C or A minor. C major

orthe key of the original recordings A minor are not necessarily in.

"There are records I love that are not good songs but are great records... People were making significant records
from the beginning of rock and roll. Elvis's records, all the Motown records. Motown made those records the way
they made the '55 Chevrolet. It's still beautiful and it still drives." - Jackson Browne, quoted by Dave Marsh from
Bill Flanagan's Written In My Soul.

A Great Song versus a Great Record
It is important to distinguish between writing a great song and making a great record. The latter calls for a different
set of skills – which is where engineers and record producers come into the picture. Great songs do not always
become great records, and some great records have been made of less-than-wonderful songs. The ideal is, of course,
to have both. If you took 'Erotica' and played it on an acoustic guitar, you would not think it's a very good song. The
record itself is another matter. Conversely, if you play 'Don't Dream It's Over' on an acoustic guitar, you can hear it's
a great song right away. But is Crowded House's recording of it a great record? Personally, I feel the arrangement is
merely adequate – it doesn't add anything to the song. It is a testament to the quality of the song that it survived such
a flat presentation.

Home Demos
Most songwriters want to hear what their songs would sound like played and recorded in a proper arrangement. The
advent of the 4-track cassette recorder in the 1980s made it possible to experience the joys of multi-tracking without
the expense of buying a reel-to-reel tape recorder (or booking studio time). Songwriters could make demos and mix
them on a single portable machine. Even though the sound quality left much to be desired, the 4-track cassette was a
clever sketchpad. In the 1990s, the advent of digital hard-disk recording led to the first 8-track digital
recorder/mixer. By 2000, for less than the cost of an old 8-track tape machine you could buy a digital mini-studio
that combined 8-track recording, CD quality, editing, mixing and sound effects – all in one compact package. Some
musicians now record directly onto computers.
If you are seriously interested in songwriting, I recommend that you make your own 8-track recordings in whatever
medium – analogue or digital – suits your taste, wallet and available space. A couple of guitars, a drum machine and
an electronic keyboard give a range of sounds and possibilities. Recording 8-track demos will improve your
musicianship, teach you about production and arrangement, and sharpen your appreciation of the finer parts of
songwriting.